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Adding Value to Your Home by Remodeling Your Pavement

A home isn’t just a great place to relax and spend time with your family. It’s also an investment—and one that rewards you for proper care and upkeep. Whatever the reason you have for selling your property—the kids have moved out, or you’ve got a job in a new city— you’ll want to get the best value possible for the house you’ve loved for so long.

It’s often overlooked, but a newly modeled pavement or driveway can add a significant boost to your home’s asking price. Read on to find out why, and how you can take full advantage of this.

Curb Appeal: First Impressions Matter

Job interviews, Tinder dates, your daughter’s new boyfriend: First impressions always matter, so why would selling your home be any different? This is what’s known as “curb appeal”— how attractive your house and surrounds are when you first sight them from the road.

Even if the inside of your house is beautifully designed, many potential home buyers aren’t going to step through the front door if the exterior of the house is dirty, damaged, or just plain dull.

As surprising as it may seem, the appearance of your concrete pavement and driveway do matter a great deal in these first impressions. Get them right, and people will not only notice but take far more interest in your property.

How Much More Value Will I Get?

It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly how much value a remodeled pavement will add to your home, but estimates from real estate agents put the figure somewhere between 5% to 10% of the original property’s valuation. On an average house worth $300,000, that’s between $15,000 and $30,000 more—far more money than a pavement or driveway will cost to remodel!

Of course, that depends on the current state of your pavement, too. If it’s already in reasonable condition, remodeling it might not add much to the price tag. It’s best to get a few quotes from contractors and check with your real estate agent to get a better estimate before you begin.

The Hidden Costs of Selling Your Home

One of the things that many people don’t consider when they’re selling their home is how long it will take to find a buyer. If your property remains on the market for a long time, and you need to move before it sells, you may wind up paying for two places at the same time— and all the agency fees and insurance that goes with it.

This is another reason why improving curb appeal is so important. A better-looking home gets a higher volume of possible buyers through the door, making it far more likely that your property will sell sooner rather than later.

What Kind of Remodeling Can I Do?

What you choose to do with your home depends on three main factors: your budget, your schedule, and the current state of it. If you’re short on money, you might be able to get away with a quick patch job of any major flaws. If you’re in a rush and don’t have time to consider designs, you can let your concrete contractor do all the heavy lifting.

Replacing the Pavement

As the most expensive option, replacing pavement or a driveway is only strictly necessary if there is deep structural damage to the existing surface. It may also be a consideration if you need to seriously alter the design or size of the pavement, but, unless this is required by local building laws, you can probably leave that to the next occupants.

Resurface or Touch Up

Your other two options are to patch up the existing pavement to quickly, and cheaply fix chips or cracks, or to have the pavement professionally resurfaced. Resurfacing works well if you have only shallow wear and tear or a few permanent stains. As well as that, you can make changes to texture and patterns to modernize its look appropriately.

Matching Your Home’s Style

No matter what you choose to do in the end, it’s important to remember that your planned remodeling fits in with the rest of the house as a whole. Flashy new pavement only works if it harmonizes with the look of the house—otherwise, it will seem out of place.

If your home has had a series of upgrades over the years but your pavement hasn’t, then it might need to be fully replaced to match. On the other hand, if your two-bedroom bungalow has seen better days, a huge brand-new driveway is just going to highlight the problems of the rest of the house.

Know Your Market

When potential buyers inspect a property, there are always two big things that stand out: light and space. No matter what the climate, people love to feel like their home is warm and welcoming and has room for every person in it to breathe.

In that respect, a pavement isn’t the only thing you can remodel or install to upgrade the look of your home. A concrete patio also goes a long way in improving the feel of a house, inviting buyers to imagine barbecues and long, lazy summer afternoons in the sun. Adding a patio or updating a patio design is like adding an extra room—at a fraction of the cost.

It comes down to knowing your local market and understanding what people are looking for. A patio is almost essential in places like Houston, which enjoys a mild to warm climate year round, and it will really appeal to people living in the area.

Giving Yourself Time

Selling your property and trying to increase its value can be mentally challenging at the best of times, and you may not want to think about remodeling any part of your home just yet. However, the long-term financial benefits will outweigh some temporary stress.

However, you can’t leave it too late. Like anything, a full remodeling job takes time, and you want to give the pavement time to settle in and look natural before the open house season begins. You don’t have to do the job yourself—just call in a reputable contractor who can provide an accurate assessment of time and cost so you can fit it into your plans.

Get a Free Assessment

After 30 years in the business, Cross Construction Services, CCS Concrete Driveways, knows exactly what your home needs to get it ready for sale. Not only that, but we have an expert, reliable team ready to turn your ideas into reality—on time, and on budget.

From pavement remodeling to an all-new concrete patio, we can add significant value to your home. Take advantage of our commitment-free, cost-free assessment and get in touch with the best concrete contractor in the Houston area at (713) 254-1703 to find out how!